The present invention relates to a device and method for publishing and packaging consumer product samples for distribution with publications, such as magazines, newspapers, and other forms of media.
For the purpose of advertising various commodities, it has been the practice to distribute product samples through the mail and other channels usually employed for the purpose. As will be readily recognized, the placing of the product sample in the hands of the potential consumer of such product is a powerful tool for marketing that product. Therefore, there is always a need for efficient distribution of consumer product samples; that is, distribution of samples to those consumers who are most likely to actually use the sample and then purchase normal size containers of the product through local retail outlets.
In the past, such consumer product samples were typically distributed by direct-mail techniques, door to door delivery, street corner give-away and store sampling, which, in the last few years, have become very expensive. By utilizing demographic distribution information, manufacturers of products could target specific areas of a geographic locale for their distribution of product samples. However, even this method had a large degree of inefficiency since, as will be readily recognized, many persons living within a particular geographic locale are not potential consumers for all types of products.
Distribution with magazines or other publications would be more effective than direct mail or other distribution methods because the subject matter of the publication can be used to ascertain the interest of the consumer. For example, a magazine directed to cooking or gardening is a much more direct and efficient means of distribution of product samples relating to those topics because the readers of such magazines presumably are already potential consumers for such products. In this context, samples and advertising literature (such as coupons, etc.) are usually loosely inserted in the publication. However, one serious drawback in connection with magazine sampling is the limitation on sample size and configuration. For example, such samples would have to be virtually 2-dimensional in order to lie flat within a magazine. This is a serious limitation since 3-dimensional sample products, up to now, cannot be safely and efficiently distributed with magazines. Furthermore, such samples and accompanying literature often become separated from the magazine or destroyed before reaching the consumer. Another limitation on the distribution of samples through magazines is that the sample is, of necessity, hidden within the magazine as that is the only means for retaining the sample within the magazine. Thus, it often becomes separated from the magazine even prior to the time that the reader may see it. Thus, heretofore, the distribution of consumer product samples through magazines also have serious limitations such that direct mail continues to be the primary means of distribution of such samples, while the physical limitations of the publishing and distribution of magazines permits only the distribution of coupons to the consumer because of their 2-dimensional configuration.
Another method of distribution with magazines is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,306 which describes a transparent pouch, bound up as a magazine page for distributing dehydrated foods in plastic bags. U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,306 does not, however, provide adequate protection for all types of samples from, for example, external pressure. Pressure is often exerted to the magazines during stacking, shipping and newsstand display. Transparent pouches such as disclosed in U.S. Pat No. 4,492,306 are prone to tear or burst, releasing the sample products, which thus do not reach the consumer. Further, where the samples consist of products more fragile than dehydrated foods, such as pharmaceuticals, the transparent pouch does not provide sufficient protection. This is particularly true in light of the typical procedures for magazine and newspaper distribution. For example, after magazines and newspapers are stacked and bound in bundles a foot or more high, they are delivered to the local wholesale or other retail outlets or newsstands. In the course of delivery, the bundles are frequently thrown from the back of trucks, stacked two or more on top of one another and generally handled in a rough manner. Furthermore, weather conditions, such as extreme cold air or wind, also subject the product to severe environmental conditions.
Accordingly, there is a need to take advantage of the efficient distribution of consumer product samples offered by magazine and newspaper publishing and distribution without the existing limitations of 2-dimensional sample configuration and the adverse conditions under which magazines and newspapers are distributed.